Sedky Avenges 2017 Ramsay Cup Loss Against Kennedy; Ryan Ends Collegiate Career With Cinderella Title Run

2018 college individual national champions Reeham Sedky of UPenn (l) and David Ryan of Harvard. (image: Michael T. Bello/mtbello.com)

UPenn’s Reeham Sedky avenged her 2017 Ramsay Cup loss to win her first college individual national title, while Harvard senior David Ryan ended his collegiate career with a cinderalla run to lift the Pool Trophy Sunday at Squash on Fire in Washington, DC.

Sedky, a junior, entered the Ramsay Cup draw as the top seed for the second consecutive year. The Seattle, Washington-native progressed to the final with ease, recording three 3-0 victories–including an 11-3, 11-9, 11-5 semifinal against Harvard No. 2 and former junior rival Sabrina Sobhy.

Harvard, the women’s team champions, produced three semifinalists. The bottom half of the draw featured an all-Harvard semifinal between defending champion Georgina Kennedy and surprise semifinalist Amelia Henley. Henley, sophomore who played No. 5 at the team championships two weeks ago, upset Princeton’s two seed Olivia Fiechter in the first round, then defeated Yale No. 1 Lucy Beecroft in three games to reach the semis, where teammate Kenned ended her run in five games.

In the final, Sedky dropped her only game of the tournament in the second, but clinched her first title in third final 11-5, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8. Sedky is UPenn’s first Ramsay Cup champion since Jessica DiMauro in 1996.

Harvard senior David Ryan completed a fairy-tale end to his collegiate career. Ryan, who played No. 3 for Harvard last weekend, was a late entry into the sixteen-player draw following injury withdrawals leading up to the tournament.

Ryan began his tournament with a win over UPenn No. 1 and three seed Andrew Douglas, which he followed with a 3-0 win against Dartmouth No. 1 Alvin Heumann. Like the Ramsay Cup draw, Harvard produced three semifinalists. In addition to Ryan, No. 2 Timmy Brownell upset Princeton’s two seed Youssef Ibrahim to reach the semis, and No. 1 Saadeldin Abouaish fulfilled his four seed by reaching the semis against Trinity’s top seed Kush Kumar.

Ryan needed five games to defeat teammate Brownell in the semifinals, while Kumar dispatched Abouaish in three games.

A dramatic final saw both players trade games after Ryan took the first, with Kumar emphatically forcing a fifth game by winning the fourth 11-3. Kumar held two match balls up 10-8 in the fifth, but Ryan fought off both, stringing together four straight points to complete the unlikely title run.

Ryan is Harvard’s first men’s individual national champion since Ali Farag in 2014.